The Los Angeles Angels' season has been one of ups and downs, even involving their normally consistent ups. Mike Trout is putting up stats like usual, but has dealt with injuries as of late. Their mainstay manager Mike Scioscia has dealt with rumors of him leaving at the end of the season, and Wednesday night, they were forced to add to that list. The team announced that designated hitter/first baseman Albert Pujols is done for the season after undergoing left knee surgery.
The procedure is officially arthroscopic knee surgery, with the recovery time of that normally being six weeks. With the final day of the regular season landing on September 30th and the Angels being out of playoff contention, the slugger will not be returning this year. He was recently placed on the disabled list with left knee inflammation.
The former St. Louis Cardinals World Series Champion will be 39 years old at the beginning of next season and still has three years left on the 10-year, $240 million contract that he agreed to. He is batting just .245 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs this season, as he continues to struggle with his health since moving out west. His team is not yet mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but once they are, it will be the sixth time they've missed out in Pujols' seven seasons with them.
His injury issues forced Pujols to stop being an everyday first baseman, as he became the Angels' designated hitter, until Shohei Ohtani showed up. Ohtani has taken that position over a majority of the time, moving Pujols back to first base more often. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Cardinals, appearing in two World Series and winning one of them. The future Hall of Fame hitter ranks sixth all-time with 633 career home runs.
The procedure is officially arthroscopic knee surgery, with the recovery time of that normally being six weeks. With the final day of the regular season landing on September 30th and the Angels being out of playoff contention, the slugger will not be returning this year. He was recently placed on the disabled list with left knee inflammation.
The former St. Louis Cardinals World Series Champion will be 39 years old at the beginning of next season and still has three years left on the 10-year, $240 million contract that he agreed to. He is batting just .245 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs this season, as he continues to struggle with his health since moving out west. His team is not yet mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but once they are, it will be the sixth time they've missed out in Pujols' seven seasons with them.
His injury issues forced Pujols to stop being an everyday first baseman, as he became the Angels' designated hitter, until Shohei Ohtani showed up. Ohtani has taken that position over a majority of the time, moving Pujols back to first base more often. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Cardinals, appearing in two World Series and winning one of them. The future Hall of Fame hitter ranks sixth all-time with 633 career home runs.
